Let \cP_n be the complex vector space of all polynomials of degree at most
n. We give several characterizations of the linear operators T\in\cL(\cP_n)
for which there exists a constant C>0 such that for all nonconstant
p\in\cP_n there exist a root u of p and a root v of Tp with
∣u−v∣≤C. We prove that such perturbations leave the degree unchanged and,
for a suitable pairing of the roots of p and Tp, the roots are never
displaced by more than a uniform constant independent on p. We show that such
``good'' operators T are exactly the invertible elements of the commutative
algebra generated by the differentiation operator. We provide upper bounds in
terms of T for the relevant constants.Comment: 23 page